THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Media; OLD QUERIES GREET TSONGAS ON CLIMB

By KAREN DE WITT,

Published: February 12, 1992

MANCHESTER, N.H., Feb. 11—
Paul E. Tsongas barely had time today to savor his surprise front-runner status before facing a round of renewed questioning about his health, his political strength outside New Hampshire and his ultimate ability to be elected.

At a news conference here, where a group of women endorsed him because of his support for the right to choose an abortion, the former Senator from Massachusetts joked about the sudden increase in his press coverage and about his climb in the polls.

"I'm not used to this situation," he said at the Y.W.C.A., where journalists outnumbered the women making the endorsement. "But I like what I have."

There was laughter all around, but the ensuing dialogue underscored the political reality that when candidates move out in front of the pack they face a renewed need to deal with questions they have already answered.

He was asked, for instance, what made him different from the other Democrats and from President Bush? 'Fundamentally 'Pro-Business'

Mr. Tsongas said he was different because "my economic issues are fundamentally pro-business." He noted he was in favor of a capital gains tax but not in favor of a tax cut for the middle class. "I'm not trying to play Santa Claus," Mr. Tsongas said, repeating what has become one of his more popular lines. "You don't build the economy with a tax cut."

He was asked whether his health was still fragile after his successful fight against cancer eight years ago, whether it was the reason he had scheduled so few public events each day.

No, he replied, he just liked to swim and have lunch with friends out of the spotlight of television cameras. His health is fine, he said, except that as a result of his treatment for cancer he has lost hearing in his left ear.

Did some of his work for corporate clients in the last eight years as a member of a law firm constitute lobbying?

He said he represented a number of business clients as well as the Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the United States.

"The only poll that counts is what happens Election Day," he said. "The worst thing that can happen to a candidate is to become obsessed with polls."

"I would have been for 10 months in the fetal position," he said, speaking of his early popularity showings. Cautious About Polls

The latest Boston Globe and CNN-USA Today Gallup polls show Mr. Tsongas ahead of his rivals, but he appeared cautious about his new status. He said that in previous campaigns where he had been the underdog he had always thought a time would come when he would pull ahead, as he has now done. He said he had begun to doubt that until recently.

Mr. Tsongas, who recently borrowed $45,000 from his daughters' college fund to finance his campaign, said that in financial and organizational strength Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas was the front-runner in the Democratic race.

"Bill Clinton has raised three times as much money as I have," he said, and "gotten endorsements from governors, senators, congressmen."

Asked how he planned to get through the Southern primaries on March 10, Mr. Tsongas said he could offer no detailed strategy beyond an intent to "just be the last man standing." He said he would campaign in the South.

He said his message that the country must pull itself up by its economic bootstraps would do well in states where manufacturing jobs have dwindled and added."My strength will be in states that have an industrial base." A Clinton Friendship

Mr. Tsongas refused to join in criticism of his rivals, saying he and Mr. Clinton had become friends and that the Governor's record, which other candidates have criticized, was something Mr. Clinton could be proud of.

Mr. Tsongas was repeatedly asked whether his battle with cancer had left him more susceptible to illness and whether it was responsible for his cough. He said the cough came from talking for long periods.

"Bill Clinton has the same throat problems I do," he said. "And, as you know, he canceled appearances because he was sick. He can do that and there is never a question because there is no reason to question it. I cannot do that. I cannot do that because there is always this lingering doubt."

Mr. Tsongas predicted that his health would be a continuing area of inquiry. He said he had made his doctor available to answer any questions about his health.

Mr. Tsongas said he was increasing his swimming to show he is healthy and would be competing in two national swimming tournaments this year.

He said that he swam the breaststroke on his college swimming team but that during this campaign year he would be doing the difficult and highly aerobic butterfly stroke to show his endurance.

Photo: Paul E. Tsongas is moving to the front of the pack, and gaining political strength beyond New Hampshire. He waited to begin a town meeting at the Palace Theater in Manchester Monday night. (Paul Hosefros/The New York Times)